Plastic vacuum containers



April 1961 HSUE c. TSIEN ET AL 2,981,430

PLASTIC VACUUM CONTAINERS Filed April 21, 1959 INVENTORS H5 (/5 C.TSIEA/ P40 H. CHI

HTTORNEY United States Patent C ee PLASTIC VACUUM CONTAINERS Hsue C.Tsien, Elmsford, N.Y. (11 Browning Drive, Livingston, N.J.), and P20 H.Chin, 1271 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY.

Filed Apr. 21, 1959, Ser. No. 807,804

1 Claim. (Cl, 215-13) This invention relates to containers such ascommonly referred to as vacuum bottles for preserving liquids in a hotor cold state. More particularly, the invention deals with a device ofthe character described, wherein the several parts are formed fromsuitable plastics to render the device nonbreakable.

Still more particularly, the invention deals with a device of thecharacter described, wherein the inner container is fixedly mounted inan outer shell and spaced from the outer shell throughout substantiallythe full length of the chamber portion of the container and, wherein, ahollow vacuum chamber stopper is used, controlling admission anddischarge of the fiuid used in conjunction with the container tube.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from thefollowing description, when taken together with the accompanyingdrawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosedand, wherein, the drawing is a longitudinal sectional view through acontainer device made according to our invention.

In the drawing, 1 represents an outer shell or casing in the form of anelongated cylinder, the upper end portion of which has a reducedsupplemental shell part in the form of an extending sleeve 2, externallythreaded,

in part, as indicated at 3, the lower portion of the sleeve having anoutwardly extending flange 4 seated upon the upper end of the shellproper 1 and suitably united therewith by a solvent, or the like, as at4'. At 5 is shown the inner container tube, in the chamber 6 i which asuitable fluid is adapted to be positioned for preservation over aperiod of time.

The tube has a rounded lower end '7 spaced from the bottom wall 8 of theshell. The upper end of the tube terminates in an outwardly extendingribbed annular flange 9, having an abrupt bevelled inner surface 10leading into a long bevelled seat 11, upon which a stopper part 12 isadapted to seat, the stopper part having a bevelled surface 13 seatingsnugly upon the bevel 11. The container has below the flange 9 anoutwardly extending shoulder 9 which fits snugly in the bore of thesleeve 2.

The flange 9 seats upon the upper end of the supplemental part 2 of theshell 1 and is sealed thereto by a solvent or other sealing means 14arranged in a bevelled portion of the flange 9, as diagrammaticallyillustrated in solid marking in the drawing. This construction unitesthe parts 1, 2 and 5 permanently together. It will be apparent that theshoulder 99 spaces the outer wall of the tube 5 from the sleeve 2 toform a chamber 15 which opens into the vacuum chamber 16 formed betweenthe shell and the tube 5.

It will appear that the bottom wall 8 of the shell is set inwardly toform a depending peripheral rim 17, leaving a recess 18 at the bottom ofthe shell. The bottom wall has a center aperture, as at 19, tofacilitate formation of the vacuum in the chamber 16 and, then, sealingthe aperture 19 by suitable sealing means, as at 20, the latter beingdisposed within the recess 18.

Patented Apr. 25, 1961 The stopper 12 is in the form of a cup-shapedmember, the upper end of which has on its inner surface a groove, as at21, to form a seat for a closure disc 22 sealed to the stopper by asolvent or other sealing means.-

The disc 22 has an aperture 23 to facilitate formation of the vacuum inthe chamber 24 of the stopper, the aperture being vacuum sealed, asdiagrammatically illustrated at 25.

At 26 we have shown a detachable cover, more or less cup-shaped in formto serve as a drinking cup. As shown in the drawing, the upper end ofthe cup is set inwardly and the peripheral surface of this inwardly setportion is ribbed, as diagrammatically illustrated at 27, to provide agripping surface facilitating attachment and detachment of the cover.The inwardly set upper portion of the cup forms a shoulder, as at 28,which is adapted to bear upon the upper end of the stopper in pressingthe stopper into firm seated position on the bevelled seat 11.

The lower or larger diameter portion 29 of the cover is spaced from thewalls of the flange 9 and the upper portion of the sleeve 2 above thethreads 3 to provide an air space 30 therebetween. The lower end portionof the cover is threaded, as seen at 31, to engage the threads 3 inattachment and detachment of the cover. It will also be apparent thatthe inwardly set upper portion of the cover also forms another air space32 between the top wall 33 of the'cover and the closure disc 22.

With our improved construction, it will appear that the contents of thetube is bordered substantially in its entirety by vacuum chambers andthis is further assisted by the air spaces 30 and 32 surrounding theupper end of the shell 1 and tube 5 and the upper portion of the stopper12. From, this standpoint, a highly eflicient vacuum container willresult for maintaining the contents of the tube 5 at the desiredtemperature for a long period of time.

It will appear from the drawing that the several parts of the containerare made of plastics and, in many uses, the shell 1, as well as the tube5, can be composed of transparent plastics, so as to indicate at alltimes the level of the contents in the chamber 5.

By virtue of the structure employed, a device of the type and kind underconsideration can be produced economically and, at the same time, theresulting device will be substantially nonbreakable in the packaging,handling and use thereof.

It will be apparent that, by setting the sleeve portion 2 inwardly, inthe manner shown, the outer wall of the closure cover is maintainedwithin the dimension of the outside diameter of the casing or shell partand,-at the same time, the vacuum chamber will include the extension, asat 15, so as to dispose the contents of the container tube entirelywithin the vacuum chamber formed between the shell and container tube.

With our improved device, in addition to providing a substantiallyunbreakable construction, the device in its entirety can be sterilizedand otherwise cleaned, thus freeing the device from all possiblecollection of bacteria and eliminating the presence of odors by virtueof unsanitary conditions. It will also be understood that, in securingthe several parts of the device together, any type and kind of securingmeans can be utilized, including fusing processes, so that the joinedparts will become as one.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A vacuum container of the character described, comprising a containerpart, a stopper forming a closure for said part, a casing part includinga reduced diameter sleeve part permanently fixed thereto and to thecontainer part, said casing part and sleeve part being spaced from themajor portion of the container part to form a vacuum chambersubstantially enveloping the container part, means detachable withrespect to the sleeve part of the casing part for retaining the stopperin seated position on the container part, and the container part 5including, at its open end, an outwardly extending flange portionseating on and secured to the upper end of said sleeve part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSJohnson July 22, 1930 Noeth Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Great BritainJan. 2, 1957

